A Storm along the Path

January 31, 2022February 1, 2022 / roseburkeauthor / Leave a comment

Snow and storms are a part of winter in New Brunswick. One stocks up on the necesssities, puts extra seed in the bird feeder and hopes the power doesn’t go off.
I was always told that if it’s going to be a small storm, the birds hunker down in a sheltered spot and wait it out; if it’s going to be a big one, they keep on feeding.

The storm began, but the feeder was still busy.

The snow got deeper and deeper. Our power didn’t even flicker, and I was grateful I was able to watch the storm’s progression from the comfort of a warm home.

I was appreciative of those who work through the storms: the ones who plow the roads and the ones who clear our driveways, the first responders who are always on duty, the ones working in every storm to restore power as quickly as possible and all the health care and other essential workers who drive to and from their jobs whatever the weather.

At dawn the storm had passed. The snow and wind had changed the yard.

The view from my window is beautiful, and I have a grateful heart.

Meniscus: Rosetta Stone

January 23, 2022January 25, 2022 / roseburkeauthor / 2 Comments

I have left the past, paused in the present and allowed myself to be transported to an alien planet.
I just finished reading Meniscus: Rosetta Stone, book 10 in a series by Alexandra Tims (a.k.a Jane Tims). I was already a science fiction fan, but this series has stretched my mind to re-evaluate and then suspend the pre-conceived. The format as a long poem is unconventional, but I find it effective, condensing the story to the essentials of fact and emotion.

Book One introduced the planet of Meniscus, which travels around two suns and has two moons. The atmosphere is breathable, but water does not behave like water on earth; it flows upward.
Meniscus has a dystopian society and is populated by a variety of unique sentients (intelligent beings), animals and plants. Some are benign and others deadly.
Dock-winders, the dominant sentients, are oppressive with no evident morals or ethics. The humans on Meniscus were abducted from earth to be slaves, but humans do not accept captivity passively. There lies the underlying plot of the series: survival and the quest for freedom.

Alexandra Tims is also an artist. Each book begins with a map of the relevant segment of the planet, and her sketches of the characters and significant scenes add depth and connection.
Meniscus is an unusual planet, so Tims ends each book with descriptions of the cast of characters, a glossary of the plant and animal life and a guide to Gel-speak.

Drag-on is a sentient, telepathic Hooplore. They resemble nests of cooked spaghetti and roll and bounce like tumbleweed. They are rather aloof from other Meniscus aliens and helpful to Humans.

Book Ten, Meniscus: Rosetta Stone, introduces new characters, Abra and Trath. They escalate suspense and emotion and create hints for the future.

*all images copyright Alexandra Tims, 2021*

Abra finds a manuscript, a rosetta stone for those who resist, but there are dangers and obstacles to be overcome to bring it to the human settlement. I feel the winds of change and hope, but the cost is high.

Alexandra Tims has created an alien planet and populated it with sentient aliens and humans who were abducted from earth. Then she added challenges, accomplishments and losses. Her visuals give life to the ‘hard to believe’. I have read all ten and await the next. To take a look, go to https://www.amazon.ca/Meniscus-Rosetta-Stone-Alexandra-Tims/dp/B09JDSPQ5L

Books from the Past (5)

January 15, 2022 / roseburkeauthor / 2 Comments

In 1995 the Netherlands and the Royal Canadian Legion celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the Liberation of the Netherlands.

Selma Kater and Sidney Smith had met and married in Doorn in 1945, following the Liberation.

Sidney passed away in 1990, five years before the anniversary.

Selma attended the celebrations with her sister Hetty Kater Outlet. Selma had previously returned to Holland, but it was the first time for Hetty.

It was an emotional time.

When Selma met her future husband, she and her sister Hetty were living in a cottage at Drift 40 (in the background at left). When they married, Hetty stood up with them.

Sidney and Selma had returned to Holland on a holiday in 1968, and she would have felt his presence during the 50th Anniversary celebrations in 1995. But, once again, it was just Selma and Hetty.

The Liberation of the Netherlands created a bond with Canada that grew even stronger in the following years as many Dutch emigrants chose Canada. My mother’s sister Hetty came to Canada in 1947 with her husband and, in 1948, her brother Albert brought his family to Canada.

Books from the Past (4)

January 10, 2022 / roseburkeauthor / 1 Comment

A friend reminded me of another book and, after a brief search, I found Holland and the Canadians. It has no date but was completed shortly after the Liberation by a Canada-Netherlands Committee using text and 150 pictures. My brother and I likely looked at the pictures, but I have no memories of my parents discussing this book with us. They rarely spoke of the past.

Holland and the Canadians with 150 pictures

I had not looked at this book for years, and now I see the pictures with heightened emotion. I have been to Holland and walked some to those streets, and I was immersed in my mother’s early life while writing Dutch Letters and Canadian Memories. Now, I feel the full impact of the pictures.
Life before the war was still visible when I visited my mother’s homeland.

Schevengeningen seaside resort near the Hague before the war and in 2015.

Windmills that dotted the landscape were still working at Kinderdijk in 2015

The images of war tore at my heart, reminding me how much the people had suffered, especially towards the end of the war.

Waiting was hard. Trips of hundreds of kilometers in search of food put women and old men in the front line of the war against hunger.

Fearing invasion from the Zuiderzee, the Germans flooded the prosperous villages of the newly claimed Wieringermeer.

A food armistice on the Dutch front re-kindled hope of survival when planes came flying over the main cities to drop food parcels. Food envoys left the Canadian area for the still occupied German-starved territory, and the port of Rotterdam was cleared to allow food ships to enter.
Is it any wonder the Candian troops were met with such joy and the Liberation of the Netherlands has never been forgotten.

The streets of Amsterdam were jammed to welcome the first Canadian troops to reach the capital.

My mother and her sister, who had been liberated in 1945, attended the 50th Anniversary in 1995.

Unfortunately my father, who had been part of the liberating force, had passed away in 1990.

Book from the Past (3)

January 1, 2022 / roseburkeauthor / 4 Comments

It’s the first day of 2022. While looking ahead to putting the pandemic behind us, I am also looking back. The third book that emerged from the past was written in Amsterdam in 1945, when everyone was eager to put WWII behind them. I think my father, Sidney Smith, likely brought “Daag” The Canadian Army in Holland home with him. Though bedraggled, it is still a treasure.

“Daag” The Canadian Army in Holland was prepared by Edward Startz of the Dutch Overseas Broadcasting Station PCJ in Hilversum. The introduction notes:
“And while we dread the parting of our liberators, we sincerely hope that Jan Nieuwenhuys with his merry drawings of the Canadian GI’s in Holland will continue to bring you pleasant memories and many a smile of the days when you happily said Daag to the Dutch.